Women booters touch down in Sydney for historic Asian Cup campaign

The Bangladesh women’s football team arrived in Sydney today for their maiden appearance in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1.

The women in red and green landed at 10:00 pm local time in Sydney, where members of the Bangladesh community and representatives from the Bangladesh High Commission welcomed them at the airport. The team reached Valentine Sports Park around 12:30 am and checked in without issue. With the temperature at a pleasant 23 degrees Celsius and a moderate breeze, the players are resting after the long journey.

They are scheduled to hold their first training session at the same venue tomorrow morning (February 21) at 9:00 am local time.

Drawn in a daunting Group B alongside nine-time champions China, three-time winners North Korea, and Uzbekistan, the 112th-ranked Bangladesh side face the toughest challenge in their history. In the FIFA rankings, North Korea sit ninth, China 17th and Uzbekistan 49th -- all well above Bangladesh.

Bangladesh will open their campaign against China in Sydney on March 3 in the 12-team tournament. They will then take on North Korea on March 6 before concluding their group-stage fixtures against Uzbekistan on March 9.

Ahead of the tournament proper, the squad will undergo a six-day training camp, including a practice match against Australian outfit Western Wanderers on February 26.